Politicians from all sides of the spectrum have traded their usual barbs for ballgowns and black tie to celebrate Canberra’s night of nights: the Midwinter Ball.
The annual event is regarded as the biggest social occasion in the nation’s capital, where politicians from every party and their plus ones rub shoulders with ‘s corporate bigwigs and pesky journalists.
Modelled on the White House Correspondents’ dinner, the Midwinter Ball is a chance for MPs and senators to try to disprove the theory that politics is showbusiness for ugly people, while raising tens of thousands for charity in the process.
Once attendees have posed in their finery on the grand marble staircase in parliament’s lobby, they are treated to a three-course dinner and cheap wine in the Great Hall where they will be entertained with light-hearted speeches from Anthony Albanese and Sussan Ley.
Items up for grabs in the charity auction include a tennis match at the Lodge with the PM, which at the time of writing has received a bid of $9,500, or the much more attractive prospect of return business class Qantas flights to London or LA, which has attracted a bid of $16,500.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader and former sheep shearer is clearly trying to outdo the PM as she is offering a ‘mystery flight and a lunch’ – an experience she promises the lucky bidder will ‘never forget’.
The $200-a-ticket event, which is hosted by the parliamentary press gallery and has been given the theme ‘House of Cards’ this year, is normally held in June but was thrown out of sync by Labor’s landslide at the May election.
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